Lemon Andersen
Lemon Andersen (born 1975) is an American poet, spoken word artist, and actor. He is sometimes credited as Lemon. Life Anderson was born Andrew Andersen, the son of Milagros “Mili” (Quiñones) from Puerto Rico and Peter Andersen, a Norwegian-American from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, he still resides there. Growing up in poverty, as a teenager Lemon experienced the successive deaths of his stepfather, father, and mother from complications of heroin abuse and AIDS, leaving him and his older brother orphaned and forced to fend for themselves. Lemon became involved in serious crime, but his growing compassion first for hip hop and then acting, and a succession of gifted mentors who recognized and nurtured his theatrical talent, resulted in his development into the powerful artist portrayed in County of Kings and Lemon. Today a much-lauded "wordsmith who thinks deeply about the sounds of syllables" , Lemon Andersen's writing and live performances have received widespread popular and critical acclaim. In his November 2012 TED talk Please don't take my Air Jordans, Lemon's performance of the title poem by Reg E. Gaines is followed by his own spoken-word riff on the influence of Gaines, Etheridge Knight, and other poets on his creative growth as a poet and spoken word artist. Poetry As a poet Lemon Andersen has the most aired episodes on HBO's Def Poetry, eight times in six seasons, and was an original cast member of the Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway (2002-2003). Andersen has traveled the spoken-word and theater scene for the last decade performing and selling out venues such as the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, Apollo Theater, Chicago Theater, and Hollywood’s Kodak Theater. On July 2, 2005 he performed in front of 500,000 people at Philadelphia’s Live 8 concert. Nike also chose him to write a piece to help them sign young basketball star LeBron James. Movies In film, Lemon appeared in The Soloist (2009), directed by Joe Wright and starring Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx. He has shot 4 movies with Spike Lee, including Sucker Free City (2004), She Hate Me (2004), Inside Man (2006) (appearing opposite Denzel Washington and Clive Owen), and Miracle at St. Anna (2008). More recently, he is featured in the internationally acclaimed documentary film Lemon, screened in 2012-2013 at film festivals and performing arts centers across North America. It premiered on television as the fourth episode in America's PBS Voces series on October 19, 2012. Theater Lemon Andersen's theater credits include Slanguage, directed by Jo Bonney, The Ride at PS 122, and U'' at the Mark Taper Forum, as well as teaching performance art workshops at different colleges, universities and institutions including Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and Sing Sing Prison. He has recently starred in a touring 1-person show titled ''County of Kings: The Beautiful Struggle, which was developed and produced through The American Place Theatre's Literature to Life program. Since its premier in 2009, performances have been staged to rave reviews at campuses and theaters across the U.S. and on three continents. This coming-of-age memoir, which mixes poetry and prose, was the grand prize winner in the 2010 New York Book Festival. As a Baryshnikov Arts Center Resident Artist from November 26-December 1, 2012, Andersen worked with director Elise Thoron and sound designer Robert Kaplowitz on the score for his new play ToasT, focusing on African-American poetic narratives in the setting of Attica Prison at the time of the 1971 riots. ToasT was commissioned by the Sundance Institute and recently showed, as ToasT (Work in Progress), in Off-Broadway's Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theater in Lower Manhattan, New York. Recognition Anderson won a Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event in 2003 and a Drama Desk]] nomination for Unique Theatrical Experience that same year for the Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam on Broadway. Publications Poetry *''Ready Made Real: Poems''. New York: County of Kings, 2004. Non-fiction *''County of Kings'' (memoir). New York: County of Kings, 2009. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Lemon Andersen, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Aug. 22, 2015. Audio / video *''Lemon'' (DVD). Canoga Park, CA: Cinema Libre Studio, 2012. See also *List of U.S. poets References External links ;Audio / video *Lemon Andersen at YouTube ;Books *Lemon Andersen at Amazon.com ;About *Lemon Andersen profile at the Academy of American Poets *Lemon Andersen at About.me * "Mining his past, defining his future" at the Wall Street Journal * Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:American poets Category:American film actors Category:21st-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:Spoken word poets Category:People from New York City Category:Performance poets